A year ago, the late Tanzanian President John Magufuli won a second term in an election marred by violence, allegations of fraud, and repression. Under President Magufuli, the government clamped down on the political opposition, media and human rights activists. Notably, the rule of law and independence of the judiciary also suffered a precipitous decline, […]
Lawyer Robert Amsterdam, who acts on behalf of Tanzanian opposition leader and political prisoner Freeman Mbowe, gave an interview this week with SABC’s Channel Africa Radio. Listen to his comments on the case below, and what it means for Tanzania’s controversial international standing under President Samia Suluhu Hassan.
When we think about dictatorships and authoritarian regimes, we tend to think of extremes. Places like North Korea, with brutal, absolutist rulers vanquishing their opponents with prejudice and limitless power. But that’s really not the reality for most autocratic countries, in fact, there are usually a series of executive constraints, rules, procedures, and structures even […]
This week we are beyond thrilled to have Mahmood Mamdani on the podcast, one of the world’s most highly regarded public intellectuals, author of dozens of books, and a decorated professor at Columbia University. Dr. Mamdani has had diverse life experience, from marching on Birmingham for civil rights to being chased from Kampala by the […]
Near the end of this episode, host of the Departures podcast Robert Amsterdam tells his guest, “This is perhaps the best book I’ve ever read on Africa, and I’ve read a lot of books.” Such is the esteem we hold for Michela Wrong, a British journalist who has covered Africa for decades for outlets such […]
In April 2013, in a distant corner of Nigeria, a terrorist group kidnapped some 300 schoolgirls, eventually igniting a global advocacy campaign that brought an unprecedented level of international attention to the country. This global attention, which involved interventions by Western intelligence agencies, military advisors, and a plethora of aid NGOs, has not necessarily always […]
Aujourd’hui Amsterdam & Partners LLP est fier de lancer la version française de son nouveau livre blanc « Minuit moins une : la crise du Cameroun », qui traite de la montée tragique et incontrôlée d’un régime autoritaire sous la dictature de Paul Biya, marquée par l’exploitation de la crise anglophone comme un prétexte aux violations des droits […]
Le Cameroun est souvent nommé « l’Afrique en miniature », du fait de sa diversité géographique et humaine. La diversité du Cameroun, qui devrait être un atout, est devenue la source de l’une des crises les plus négligées au monde. En simplifiant les choses, on peut dire que le Cameroun compte deux régions dites anglophones et huit […]
Today Robert Amsterdam of Amsterdam & Partners LLP is proud to launch its latest white paper, “One Minute to Midnight: The Cameroon Crisis,” focusing on the tragic and unchecked rise of authoritarian rule under the dictatorship of Paul Biya, the exploitation of the Anglophone crisis as a pretext for human rights abuses, and the unlawful […]
The coronavirus pandemic is a global emergency that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives globally. Even when governments make their best effort at preserving the life and well-being of their populations by enacting sensible measures to decrease the spread of the disease and working to procure vaccines as quickly as possible, COVID-19 has proven […]